updated 10:30 pm EDT, Wed April 22, 2009

Aliph Jawbone Prime

Aliph in a low-key intro tonight revealed Jawbone Prime, the third generation of its Bluetooth headset. The Prime gets a slight cosmetic redesign that includes new, more varied colors but revolves around an updated noise cancellation engine that adds another 6dB to 9dB of outside sound reduction through the namesake jaw-based method. The mechanism is also designed to work more reliably when the jaw isn't in contact and particularly to reduce wind noise.

The peripheral maker promises slightly extended battery life of 4.5 hours for active talk, an 8-day standby time and new support for Bluetooth 2.1 on those computers and phones that have the more efficient standard. Two devices can also be paired to the newer Jawbone without having to redo the pairing process.

Pricing will be the same $130 as for the outgoing Jawbone and will have a regular line with black, brown and silver colors; green, purple, red and yellow will be part of a limited edition. Aliph takes orders from Thursday onwards and starts shipping on May 2nd.

I loved the first generation.The second generation of Jawbone frankly sucked big time.Why?1. It is too small for men's faces - the button that should be on the jawbone would not touch. Thus, it sucked for reducing background noise.2. It sucked big time for reducing wind noise. Nearly all the time, it could not reduce wind noise. A breeze makes conversation hard to hear - to hear your voice.

Thus I gave up on my Jawbone 2.

Too bad these things wear out. I went to my trusty wired headsets. They just have better sound quality and noise reduction quality.

Bluetooth is definitely more convenient. Thus I hope Jawbone Prime works better. But I have doubts.

1. It is still too small. There should be an extender for the button sensor that sits on the Jawbone.

2. It should be made in an in-the-ear form factor for better listening sound quality - particularly in loud environments. Aliph should design it as an in-the-ear phone - like Griffin's modification of the Jawbone.